In the coming days, the administration of President Donald Trump plans to roll back Obama-era controls on the release of methane.
The rollback of the methane rule is the latest of Trump’s attacks on the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), something he has continued to weaken throughout his presidency. The administration plans to make the rule public on Friday.
Methane is a powerful climate-warming gas emitted from leaks and flares in oil and gas wells as well as from decomposition of natural materials in area landfills. Controlling it is critical to efforts to slow the warming of the planet.
Photo by Marcin Jozwiak. Courtesy of unsplash.com
Senator Michael Bennet is among many government officials stepping forward to express disapproval of the rollback.
“By rolling back the EPA’s protections against methane pollution, the Trump Administration continues its ideological assault on our health, environment, and economy,” said Bennet in a statement. “Colorado was the first state to issue methane pollution limits for oil and gas production, setting a standard for innovative, forward-looking policy for the rest of the country. With each rollback, President Trump betrays the hard work of local leaders in Colorado and across the country, drags us further behind in the urgent fight against climate change, and threatens our children’s health and future.”
Scientists say that methane (CH 4) is 84 times more powerful than carbon dioxide ( CO 2). For example, releasing 1 kilogram of CH4 into the atmosphere is about equivalent to releasing 84 kilograms of CO 2.
Methane reduction was cited as low hanging fruit, with dramatic impact to address the impact of global warming, by consultant Dr. Erica Wohldmann-Gift, Ph.D in an August 3 presentation to the Salida City Council of the Salida Greenhouse Gas Inventory.
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